The Pittsburgh, PA-based company creates innovative software to help online shoe shoppers figure out what size to order. The company uses a database of internal shoe measurements, acquired using 3D imaging technology, to compare the size and shape of a shoe a shopper is currently wearing to one she wants to buy.

Moore alumna Hannah Garrison ’13, Illustration, is a Footwear Taxonomy Specialist for the growing startup, which currently provides the online shoe fitting app to several brands in the athletic footwear industry – from K-Swiss to New Balance – and is now moving into the dress/casual and women’s footwear markets.

“We’re very new and within the last eight or nine months we’ve been expanding very quickly and partnering with exciting clients,” Garrison said. “It’s an exciting time to be here because there are always new things happening or things that pop up that we have to figure out. Everyone is extremely talented, from our sales reps to our developers, so it’s great to be around those kinds of people.”

As a Footwear Taxonomy Specialist, Garrison basically spends her day looking at shoes. She selects shoes from the company’s online database and categorizes them, from the brand to the model, to the color and material, plus any special features on the shoe.

“I individually process hundreds of shoes a day,” Garrison said. “The most visual thing I’m doing is using my eye to make the decision of how to categorize something, especially when it gets very specific. There can be a minute difference between shoes. Researching is a skill I learned at Moore, and that has been helpful.”

Garrison was recently offered the opportunity to work on some design projects at the company.

“I’ve been increasingly interested in merging my design skills with my interest in technology and how users interact with the end product (the app, computer program, etc), so I’m very excited,” she said.

Although she works full-time at Shoefitr, Garrison is also a freelance illustrator and a member of the Pittsburgh Society of Illustrators. She recently sold some of her work at the International Drawing Symposium at Carnegie Mellon University. She’s also working on a children’s book for a client who is interested in nature and science. Lastly, she works part-time in the gift shop at Phipps Conservancy, a botanical garden in Pittsburgh.

Garrison grew up in Milford, PA and wanted to attend art school in a large city. Philadelphia and Moore were the perfect fit.

“When I initially came to Moore for an Open House, I really got a sense of the community and the individualized attention I would get from the professors that I might not have gotten at a larger school. I really appreciate the experience I had at Moore,” she said.

Visit the Shoefitrwebsite to learn more about the benefits of online shoe fitting technology.